Author: SME Chamber

Retailers can opt to train all cash handlers or else only one member of staff who will act then as a trainer

The Central Bank of Malta is launching a training scheme for retailers to build up and enhance cash handlers’ skills in checking the authenticity of banknotes at the point of sale.

The training is being offered for free and can be offered on site or online. The training has been designed in such a way that retailers can opt to train all cash handlers or else only one member of staff who will subsequently be able to act as a trainer for the rest. 

Upon completing the necessary training, retailers will be given a sticker by the Bank which they can display as a form of certification, which will be valid for a two-year period. As part of the scheme, the Bank can also provide the latest counterfeit calibrating equipment to ensure that retailers’ machines and devices are capable of detecting all known current counterfeit banknotes.

By participating in this scheme, retailers will reduce their risk of financial losses and the reputational risks resulting from the inadvertent acceptance of counterfeit notes, and at the same time will support society by helping to prevent the spread of counterfeit banknotes and the crime associated with them. 

For further information on this scheme, retailers can contact the Central Bank of Malta on (+356) 2550 6010/1 or by email on .

This was the first meeting with the newly appointed Education Minister

The Malta Chamber of SMEs together with the committee representing Licensed Educational Institutions, held an introductory meeting with the newly appointed Education Minister Hon. Justyne Caruana.

During the meeting it was agreed that the SME Chamber and the Ministry for Education, will work closely with the aim of improving the sector.

The Malta Chamber of SMEs has officially met Opposition Leader Dr Bernard Grech to discuss issues related to members of the Malta Chamber of SMEs.

SME Chamber President Paul Abela augured Dr Grech for being elected as PN and Opposition Leader and stated that the SME Chamber considers the opposition as alternative Government.

SME Chamber President Paul Abela emphasized how important it is to give businesses the necessary breathing space at the moment, giving them the ability to extend their loan repayments on a long time-frame to give them time to make up for this year.

Whilst mentioning that the SME Chamber was catalyst to convinve the Government to introduce the wage supplement, Mr Abela mentioned the importance of new incentives for SMEs and the economic growth post Covid-19.

Mr Abela also mentioned the importance of a economic regeneration process and the importance of the Environment, stressing that the Malta Chamber of SMEs is on the forefront in promoting renewal energy  and manages two Schemes one for packaging and electrical equipment.

President Paul Abela, Vice-Presidents Marcel Mizzi, Michael Galea, Chris Vassallo and CEO Abigail Mamo, participated on behalf the SME Chamber during this meeting.

1. Cost of Living Increase

Legal Notice 468 of 2021: This Legal Notice establishes the Cost of Living Increase for 2021, previously announced by the Government in the financial estimates. Therefore, the wages of whole-time employees have, as of 1st January 2021, been increased by €1.75 per week (or pro rata for part-time employees).

2. Minimum Wages

Legal Notice 469 of 2020: This Legal Notice amends the minimum wages stipulated in the sector-specific Wage Regulation Orders as from the 1st of January 2021, reflecting the Cost of Living Increase.

3. Public Holidays and Vacation Leave

During the last Budget speech, employees were given the impression that in 2021 the Government would be adding an additional day of paid vacation leave, as it had done over the last three years, this to make up for ‘lost’ public holidays that fall on weekends. This would have increased the entitlement to 28 days. However, after much confusion, we can confirm that the leave entitlement for 2021 shall remain 27 days as there will not an additional day added.

The Government has announced that the National Holidays and Other Public Holidays Act (Chapter 252) shall be amended, so that each calendar year the paid vacation leave entitlement will fluctuate up, or down, according to the number of ‘lost’ public holidays falling on a weekend. For instance, this will mean that in 2022 the entitlement will go up to 28 days, but in 2023 the entitlement will be reduced to 26 days. Employers will have to monitor the fluctuations on a yearly basis.

The information provided on this Update does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice. All information, content, and materials available are for general informational purposes only.  This Update may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information and you are advised to seek updated advice.

Date: Friday, 29th January 2021

Time: 09:30 to 13:30.

Funding opportunity for SMEs has arisen, to support R&I projects in the field of Maritime and Marine Technologies.

Click here for more information. 

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The service is available following a professional training supported by Norway Grants

Following a professional training supported by the Norway Grants the Malta Chamber of SMEs is now offering a new service for its members related to Employment Law in Malta and the EU.

Malta Chamber of SMEs staff are now trained professionally to offer assistance to its members related to employment issues such as employment contracts, working hours, leave, wages, termination of contracts, harassment and discrimination at work, disability, health and safety at work, data protection and work and residency permits.

This was a great opportunity for the Malta Chamber of SMEs’s since employment issues have increased drastically since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and work related issues increased following the arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine.

This training is Supported by the Norway Grants 2014-2021, in the frame of the Social Dialogue and Decent Work Programme and was delivered by Fenech and Fenech Advocates.

Chamber of SMEs say sector needs more COVID-19 aid

A €1 million aid package for bars and clubs isn’t enough to sustain the hundreds forced to close due to COVID-19 until February, the Malta Chamber of SMEs has warned.

The chamber is in talks with the government to try to increase the assistance, announced by Prime Minister Robert Abela on New Year’s Eve.

Bars, clubs and band clubs have been closed since October 26 and will remain shut until February as part of measures to stop the spread of the virus.

Abela said further details of the state-aid package would be announced in the coming days but the chamber said the money is not enough, when stretched across approximately 800 establishments.

“In this sense, although it’s a good start and positive, the funding won’t go a long way,” chamber deputy president Philip Fenech said, adding that he hoped through discussions with the relevant authorities they would be able “to settle on a tidy sum” to help bars and clubs start up again.

He said the funding, which will be allocated over and above the wage supplement, can be used as working capital to help businesses replenish their stocks.

There are a number of products that bars and clubs stock that have an expiry date, such as juices and soft drinks, Fenech noted.

“What we have to fine tune in the next few days, and the prime minister said this in a tweet, is the intricacies of how these funds will be distributed,” he said.

“We have to look at this as the size of the bar or club and the number of workers they employ. Bigger clubs and bars obviously had larger losses because they had larger stocks.

“It would be very unfair if we came out with one flat rate for everyone. The best way democratically is to allocate funds according to capacity and size of the venue in question.”

Henri Cauchi, who co-runs the band club Vilhena, in Floriana, said he was “getting worried” about the future, having managed to survive on the €800 supplement thus far.

“This day and age it’s difficult to pay your bills and survive on that,” he said.

“Two of my employees have had to leave, and one of them, a part-timer, is only getting a supplement of €400.

“How can you pay rent on that?”

Cauchi also questioned why bars were forced to close, to restrict crowds gathering, while other venues have been allowed to remain open.

“It’s either we’re all in it together or we’re not. It’s unfair – we were doing very well before this pandemic,” he said.

Source: timesofmalta.com